"We know today though, that those very areas that were stigmatised in the late 19th century are some of the most desirable parts of our city and we've opened up a 50-year gap in supply in one of the most desirable forms of accommodation that we have in Sydney."

He said that while a house on a quarter-acre block had become the ideal, with ever-rising house prices in Sydney, that dream had become unaffordable for most and house buyers needed more options.

'We need to make efficient use of land'

Mr Stokes said the Government had identified a gap in the market.

"What we know is that we're getting a lot of apartments and high-rise units across Sydney, we're also getting detached housing on the fringes of Sydney," he said.

"What we are missing out on though is that human scale of development that typifies so many cities overseas and that really is all about terraces.

Since the airing of the gut-wrenching documentary Leaving Neverland, many of us have wrestled with an uncomfortable, yet essential question: given everything we know, can we continue listening to Michael Jackson's music?